Neighbors in the City View community are worried about a crime spike after money ran out to pay for street lights.

Residents got a letter from Greenville County on Jan. 3 saying that if property owners did not start paying the bill for the lights, the lights would be shut off on Feb. 6.

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"We've got the highest crime rate there is, and that's with the street lights on," said Triska James, a mother of two.

The letter said that after the town of City View was dissolved in 1996, the town's leftover money was given over to the Greenville County treasurer. It said that the money had been used to pay for the street lights, but was about to run out. It said a special tax district for lighting was never formed.

The letter told property owners to contact Duke Energy about paying to keep the lights on.

Residents who contacted Duke about paying for the lights said they were told it would cost about $10 per month, per light.

In a community with many low-income families and seniors on fixed incomes, the price tag was deemed too high.

"It's worth $2, $3 a month to keep them on," said John Montieth, 84, who has lived in the area for more than 40 years.

Still, Montieth said he is worried about a rise in crime if the lights can't stay on.

"We have enough trouble out here as it is, and if the lights were out, it would be worse," he said.

Zach Hinton, a spokesman for the Greenville County Sheriff's Office said that good lighting helps prevent crime, but that deputies are equipped to patrol the area even if the lights are turned off.

"We can light up an area if we need to, even in routine patrols," Hinton said.

Duke Energy could not be reached Thursday night to confirm the price for keeping the lights on.